A 17-year-old teenager with an enviable technical acumen left his homeland India to explore the American shores, and after more than 30 years of path-breaking success in the field of technology, Vivek Ranadive became the first Indian-American to own a team in the biggest basketball leagues of them all - the National Basketball Association, popularly known as the NBA.
Ranadive stepped on American soil with $50 in his pocket in 1975, and today he is the first owner in the NBA of Indian heritage.
The NRI (non-resident Indian) business magnate led a group of investors last May to buy the team after the NBA Board voted 22-8 against relocation of the team to Seattle; hence, he won hearts as well by contributing significantly to keep the team in California. The deal for 65 per cent stake was finalised for a league-record valuation of $535 million (Rs 2,937 crore).
But his journey in America began like several other aspiring students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). With his excellent grasp in the field of technology, Ranadive didn't find it difficult to earn a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Electrical Engineering. With his technical know-how taken care of, he chose to hone his business acumen with MBA at the Harvard University.
All set having prepared a launch-pad for himself, Ranadive launched Teknekron Software Systems in 1980. The company went on to become a $250,000 venture before being acquired by Reuters in 1994. However, before that happened, Ranadive revolutionised the business world by digitising Wall Street. All the information related to stock and other news was now delivered to investors in real time.
In 1997, having spent more than 20 years in the US, Ranadive's deep love for sports came to the fore with the launch of TIBCO Software Inc. CBS Sportsline came forward to buy it and the way fans followed sports changed forever with news available in real time. In two years, the company earned revenues of $100 million.
And now, as the owner of Sacramento Kings, he is living his dream of getting associated with sports, especially basketball - the very sport he once coached his daughter's National Junior Championship team in.
The NBA is currently the most televised basketball league globally and its stalwarts like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have a humongous fan-base, parallel with cricket icons like Sachin Tendulkar and football demi-gods like Lionel Messi.
"It's going to be exciting. We're going to build a global brand with the Kings. We're going to give the fans the product they deserve," Ranadive had told The USA Today after acquiring Sacramento Kings last year.
"I'm going to do what I do in my business, which is surround myself with people who are way smarter than me. But I am a huge fan. I'm going to be there at all the games, be there to support the team in every way," he said.
The much-anticipated deal last year was made public by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, himself a former NBA player. "This was one heck of a comeback," said Johnson as he announced the deal to keep the club in Sacramento city.
Recently, Ranadive also said that the NBA might have its first Indian player in the next five years. "There are actually some Indian players in the National Collegiate Athletic Association that NBA scouts have already started looking at. And I fully expect to see an Indian player join the NBA within the next five years."
(With inputs from Reuters)
Comments
0 comment